Portable truck loader



F. C. ADAMS PORTABLE TRU Jan. 3, 1939.

CK LOADER Filed Dec. 30, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ERA/VA C, ADAMJ mm m a v Q 8 mm ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 3, 1939. F, ADAMS 2,142,687

PORTABLE TRUCK LOADER Filed Dec. 30, 1935 3 Sheets- Sheet 2.

I l I I l I l I IE1 I INVENTOR.

FRANK C. ADAM;

ATTORNEYS 3 Sheds-Sheet 3 Jan. 3, 1939. -F. c. ADAMS PORTABLE TRUCKLOADER Filed Dec. 30, 1935 INVENTOR. FRANK C. ADAMS ATTORNEYS,

Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFHCE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to loading apparatus as used for loading trucksor wagons with sand, rock, gravel and other loose material, and has forits principal object improved portable apparatus of this kind mounted ona motor vehicle and powered by the motor of the vehicle. Importantfeatures of the invention comprise the coordinated arrangement of theseveral major parts in securing a compact easily operated apparatuswhich may be manipulated to dig or shovel up the material over aconsiderable area and convey it into an adjacent truck or wagon, yetwhich apparatus may be folded close to the body of the carrying vehiclewithout overhanging parts, for transporting to and from the job to behandled. Other features and advantages of the invention will appear inthe following description and appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. l is a side view of my improved truckloader on its motor vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a rear end view of the vehicle and loader showing its conveyorextended from the.

side in position for loading a truck.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of digging elevator and its mounting.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken along the line l-i of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of Fig. 4 taken along the line 55 thereof.

In further detail the drawings show a motor vehicle i having a fiatplatform body portion 2 on which is securely mounted a cylindrical post3 as by means of a bolting flange 4 and on the upper end of which postis rotatably mounted a casting or head member 5 which is formed withaxles 6 extending transversely of the motor vehicle and on which axlesis pivotally mounted a rearwardly, or normally longitudinally extendingframe or beam I. This frame is preferably made of angle bars andconverges toward its rear end which projects considerably beyond therear end of the vehicle and is there provided with a pair of bearingblocks 8 from which is pivotally suspended a frame 9 of a bucketelevator comprising a chain or chains it fitted with buckets l I andriding over head sprocket i2 and tail sprocket l3, the latter beingcarried on a shaft l4 passing through lower telescopic extensions 9' ofthe frame 9 and which are resiliently forced downwardly by springs lland serve for maintaining proper working tension on the chain.

Frame or beam i also extends forwardly of its pivotal axles 6 andembraces a large counterweight [5 which may substantially counterbalancethe weight of the suspended bucket elevator at the extreme rear end.Means is provided for tilting the counterbalanced beam 1 up and down onits supporting axles 6 to thereby bodily raise and lower the elevatoralong the are 33, and means is also provided for rotating the beam aboutthe post 3 so as to swing the lower or dig ging end of the elevatorabout a wide swath in order to shovel up the material as indicated bythe are 58 in Fig. 3 and dotted position of the elevator, and besidesthe two motions just mentioned means is provided for swinging theelevator on its pivotal support or head shaft [6 so that its lower endcan be held in any position along the dotted arc I! (see Fig. 1).

The means for tilting the beam 1 comprises a downwardly extending leverarm I9 at the side of the fixed post 3, and which arm is rigidly secured at its upper end to the frame I as at 20,

and is linked at its lower end as at 2| to a crank arm 22 rigidlyprojecting from a shaft 23 suitably supported and which shaft hasaffixed to it a gear or worm wheel 24 engaged by a worm 25 which may berevolved by a hand crank 26 mounted'on the worm shaft 21, all asindicated in Fig. 1'. The pitch of the worm being low the beam 1 willbe'automatically locked at any elevation to which itmay be adjusted.

The means for swinging the beam 1 about the post comprises a largehandwheel'Zt secured to a shaft 29 fitted with a worm 3i! engaging aworm wheel or ring gear segment 3! secured to the post 3 adjacent thelower end of a sleeve or frame 32 which extends downwardly from headcasting 5 about post 3 and provided with rollers, blocks or ring 32bearing against the post to hold the beam from tipping sidewise yetpermit revolving movement about the post.

The means for swinging the elevator along are H comprises a pair ofrigid lever arms 34 secured to the upper end of elevator frame 9 as bygusset plate 35 and braces 36, and which lever arms are linked at 31 toa crank 38 extending rigidly from a shaft 39 which carries a worm wheelii! engaged by a worm 41 secured to a shaft 42 turned manually by ahandwheel 43. A

The bucket elevator travels in direction of the arrow of Fig. 1 anddischarges into a chute 44 carried by the beam l and which guides thematerial into a large or wide hopper 55 which in turn guides it to abelt conveyor 46 for conveying the material beyond the side of theapparatus supporting vehicle for loading into a cart or truck asindicated by dotted line 41 in Fig. 2. This conveyor is carried onpulleys or rolls .48, 49 and troughing rolls 50 mounted on a frame 5|which extends angularly upward and projects a considerable distancebeyond the side of the supporting vehicle I and is angularly braced insuch extension by a brace rod 52 from an upright support 53. Theoverhanging portion of the conveyor is pivoted at 54 to fold up- .wardto dotted position 5| and is held in folded position by brace rod 52being disengaged from support 53 and hooked or otherwise secured to theupper part of beam 1 as indicated in dotted position in Fig. 2.

Power is transmitted from the engine of the carrying vehicle to operatethe bucket elevator and the belt conveyor by any desired means to ashaft 55 fitted with a bevel gear 55 meshing bevel gear 51 on uprightshaft 58 within post 3 and carrying at its upper end a bevel gear 59meshing with bevel gear 60 on a horizontal shaft Bl having bearingsupport within the bore of axles 6 and from one of which the shaftprojects and carries a sprocket 62 which drives a. chain 63 whichextends forwardly and around a sprocket 64 secured to the head shaft l6of the bucket elevator.

The belt conveyor is driven from its lower, or tail pulley, by means ofa chain or belt 65 passing over a wheel secured to tail pulley shaft 56and which chain is driven from a suitable sprocket (not shown) on shaft55 which extends along centrally of the carrying vehicle.

It is of course understood that a suitable clutch not shown is providedfor throwing the power shaft 56 in and out of gear with a suitable powertake-off shaft from the vehicle transmission, not shown in the drawingsas all being well understood construction in truck motor operatedapparatus generally and not claimed herein;

Hopper 45 is made broad enough to receive the discharge from chute 44 atvarious positions of the elevator as same may be swung about are It, andthe chute is provided with an inner telescopic extension 44' which ispivotally connected at 61 with a pair of links 68, 69 respectivelypivoted at I0, H to the bucket elevator frame 9 and frame or beam 1 sothat as the elevator is swung outward or inward on arc I! the movablesection 44' of the chute will always follow the movement of the elevatorand thus maintain a minimum clearance between the chute and buckets atthe discharge side of the elevator to catch all material thrownoutwardly from the buckets and keep it from falling downward between thebuckets and the chute.

As a means of assisting or varying the effective weight of thecounterweight l5 heavy spiral compression springs 12 may be arranged ona stiff cross-barl3 carried by the post and through which springs extendbolt rods 14 hooked at their inner ends through any of several holes J5in arm I9 and the outer ends of the bolt rods provided with washers andnuts 16 to screw down against the springs to vary the compressionthereof.

Having thus described my improved truck loading apparatus its operationwill'be clear from the description, the vehicle being simply backed upin front of a pile of the material it is desired to load and the brakesapplied, the belt conveyor is outfolded to extend over the truck to beloaded, as in Fig. 2, the power shaft 55 is thrown into gear with thepower take-off shaft transmission while same is in neutral insofar asthe vehicle wheels are concerned, and whereupon the elevator may bemanipulated by wheels 43, 26, 28, to pick up the material and graduallywork into the pile while swinging from side to side. The vehicle is ofcourse backed up a bit from time to time if the pile is large.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a portable truck loader, a road vehicle, a post on said vehicle, arearwardly extending beam rotatably supported for lateral swingingmovement on said post and extending rearwardly beyond the vehicle, abucket elevator pivotally suspended from the rear end of the beam, and abelt conveyor provided with a frame extending transversely of and beyondone side of the vehicle, and said conveyor arranged to receivethedischarge from said elevator, said belt conveyor projecting a relativelygreat distance beyond the side of said vehicle, and the projectingportion provided with means adapted to permit folding it over thevehicle by bending of the belt of the conveyor without removal thereof.

2. In a portable truck loader, a road vehicle, a post on said vehicle, arearwardly extending beam rotatably supported for lateral swingingmovement on said post and extending rearwardly beyond the vehicle, abucket elevator pivotally suspended from the rear end of the beam, and abelt conveyor provided with a frame extending transversely of and beyondone side of the vehicle, and said conveyor arranged to receive thedischarge from said elevator, said belt conveyor projecting a relativelygreat distance beyond the side of said vehicle, and the projectingportion provided with means adapted to permit folding it over thevehicle including a rod bracing the conveyor when outfolded and lockingsame when folded.

3. In a portable truck loader, a road vehicle, a post on said vehicle, arearwardly extending beam rotatably supported for lateral swingingmovement on said post and extending rearwardly beyond the vehicle, abucket elevator pivotally suspended from the rear end of the beam, and abelt conveyor provided with a frame extending transversely of and beyondone side of the vehicle, and said conveyor arranged to receive thedischarge from. said elevator, a chute guiding material discharged fromsaid elevator to said belt conveyor and provided with a telescopicportion operatively connected with the frame of said elevator to hold itin substantially constant relation thereto as the elevator is swung onits pivotal suspension.

4. In a portable truck loading apparatus of the character described, abeam, a post, means supporting said beam at the upper end of the postfor horizontal and vertical swinging movement, and an endless bucketelevator suspended from one end of the, beam, said beam provided with arelatively short portion extending beyond said post and fitted withcounterweight to sub-- stantially offset the weight of the elevator andfurther fitted with springs provided with tension adjusting meansarranged to permit modifying the effect of said counterweight.

FRANK C. ADAMS.

